Memory art

Start Remembering and Studying “Smart” • • • Rising memory properly is a skill and an art, and it must be learned from the beginning; there are no shortcuts at first. (My systems are the shortcuts.) The techniques will be new and foreign to you, a way of thinking that may seem silly at first. Don’t make the mistake of deciding something is silly because you’ve never heard of it. Once you get past the fundamentals, youTl realize how practical, fascinating, and non-silly the systems are (particularly since youTl see results as you move through those fundamentals). It is important for you to know that the secret of a good or incredible memory is Original Awareness. When someone says he forgot something, it usually means he never remembered it in the first place. You can’t forget something you never knew; but anything that registers in your mind in the first place is easy to recall and just about impossible to forget. That’s what I mean by Original Awareness — forcing information to register in your mind or memory in the first place. Applying the systems will force you to be Originally Aware of any information the first time you see, hear, or read that information. The one rule that holds true for all memory, trained or untrained, is: In order for you to remember any new thing, it must be associated with something you already know or remember. Association, pertaining to memory, simply means the tying together or connecting of two or more things. That rule is the crux, the basis, of all memory. You’ve used association all your life. Memory exists because of it. Anythingyou’ve ever remembered you have associated with something else — as in the “Italy-boot” and “EGBDF-treble clef” examples. When you see or hear something that makes you say, “Oops, that reminds me,” you’re using association; one thing is somehow connected to the other. That’s why it “reminds” you. The problem is, you do it subconsciously, without thinking about it, realizing it, or having control over it. Your goal, now, is to knowingly and consciously — with control — be able to associate anything you want to remember with some other thing that will remind you of it. The Link and Peg systems of memory will enable you to do just that. Abstract or intangible information is much more difficult to remember than concrete, tangible, and meaningful information. The Substitute Word technique will solve that problem for you by making abstract information tangible and meaningful in your mind. These, then, are the techniques you will be using: the Link, Peg, and Substitute Word systems of memory. With them, you will be able to memorize any schoolwork with ease. Compared to the way you’ve been cramming now, you will soar through your work! To quote Cracking the System coauthor Adam Robinson further: “Another thing that your systems show and teach is just how to develop a system on a student’s own. I mean, a student can think, ‘Gee, anything can be broken down; there are easier approaches.’ There’s a thing called studying smart, Harry; you teach people how to remember smart.” (He’s talking about applying strategies for learning. Remedial therapist Francee Sugar agrees: “Strategies are very, very important, and the ability to develop and use them is intrinsic to learning. You need strategies to improve your memory. Learning-disabled students are too often at a loss on how to develop strategies on their own. Your systems are marvelous strategies.) To “remember smart” you must understand the Link and Peg systems. I’ll teach them to you in “stunt” form. As you learn and practice them, you may not see how they apply to your studies. They do; but learn the fundamentals first, then apply them to your work — and you’ll be doing that in an extraordinarily short time. You may want to show off for family and friends with the fundamentals. There’s nothing wrong with that; do it. It’s goodpractice. Make a game out of it. See how many things you can remember after you learn the ideas. Do it for fun. It is fun. To remember — that is, know — the names of the five Great Lakes, picture (imagine) many HOMES on a lake. HOMES will remind you of Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior. Do you need to remember them by ascending size? Picture hills on lakes; there’s a man on each hill. On Each Hill Man Stands. Ontario, Erie, Huron, Michigan, Superior. Silly? Sure. But it works! Acronyms can come in handy once in a while. Some high-school students remember the different forms of energy by thinking of the word “McHales.” If familiar with the energy forms to begin with, “McHales” would remind of mechanical, chemical, heat, atomic, light, electrical, and solar. The problem, of course, is that the student might not remember that word when asked about forms of energy. That problem is solved by applying the Substitute Word System, as youTl see. Medical and dental students know that the human bite requires five muscles. If they know the names of those muscles in the first place, BITEM is a good reminder: Buccinator, Internal pterygoid, Temporal, External pterygoid, Masseter. I know that some reference books say Japan’s Mount Fuji is 12,365 feet high because I visualized the mountain made up of millions of calendars. Calendar reminded me of 12 months and 365 days in a year — 12,365 feet. The problem is that I’ve yet to find anything else that’s 12,365 feet high, wide, or deep! The above are helpful, but too limited; they apply to (and work for) specific things only. I want you to be able to associate (remember) anything. YouTl learn systems that are unlimited in scope, that can be applied to any kind of information, at any time, under any circumstances. Here comes the good stuff, now!.